Check Your Eligibility for NHS Pharmacy First Treatments

NowPatient clinicians can assess and treat the following six conditions through the service:

• Sinusitis

• Sore throats

• Infected insect bites

• Impetigo

• Shingles

• Uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) in women.

If your clinician prescribes a treatment, the medication is dispensed by NowPatient’s online pharmacy and delivered to your chosen address.

You can use the NHS Pharmacy First service if you are aged 18 or over, are registered with the NHS in England, and pass the condition-specific eligibility screening.

Important: This service is commissioned by NHS England and is only available to patients in England. It is not available in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, or the United States.

The consultation itself is completely free. If your clinician prescribes medication and you are not exempt from NHS prescription charges, you will pay a single NHS prescription charge. If you are exempt (for example, you receive Income Support or are aged over 60), there is no charge at all.

Follow these steps to book your free video consultation through NowPatient:

• Go to the NHS Pharmacy First Service Card. Find it in the ‘NHS Hub’ section of your account homepage. Select ‘Select Condition’ from the Options Menu

• Choose your condition and check eligibility. Select the condition you would like to treat and click ‘Check Eligibility’. Complete the eligibility quiz to determine whether you qualify. If you do not qualify, we will signpost you to the right NHS care provider or service

• Book your consultation. If you qualify, click the ‘Book Consultation’ button to proceed

• Choose a date. Select your preferred consultation date. You can also add notes to help the clinician prepare for your session. Click ‘Continue’

• Choose a time. Select your preferred consultation time and click ‘Continue’.

• Choose a clinician. Browse available clinicians and select one. You can filter by gender and spoken languages. Click ‘Continue’

• Review your booking. Check a summary of your appointment and read the ‘Pre-consultation Requirements’ for tips on how to prepare for your video consultation. Click ‘Continue’

• Provide safety information. Enter your consultation address and emergency contact details. You can also opt in to receive an SMS reminder 30 minutes before your appointment

• Confirm your booking. Click ‘Confirm Booking’ to complete the process. You will see a confirmation pop-up and be redirected to your homepage. You will also receive in-app and push notifications

Ensure your health profile is up to date. Your clinician may need details of your current medications and supplements, known allergies and adverse reactions, existing medical conditions, previous surgeries or hospitalisations, family medical history (where relevant), current symptoms or health concerns, blood pressure readings (see below), height and weight (to calculate your BMI), and certain blood test results.

​
Additionally, If you are a UK user registered with the NHS in England, we encourage you to connect your NHS account. You can do this easily from your account homepage. This way our clinicians, subject to your consent, can view your health record to ensure they are advising your safely & appropriately under the terms of the service.

At the start, your clinician will introduce themselves and confirm your identity. You'll be reminded that you are completing this consultation for yourself and to the best of your knowledge, you must disclose any medical conditions, serious illnesses or operations, and you must disclose any prescription or non-prescription medications you're taking.
​
You will also be asked to give consent so we can communicate with your GP and share information with NHS England, NHS Improvement, and the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) if needed.

Your clinician will ask you a series of questions to assess your condition and explore treatment options. At the end of the consultation, the clinician will decide whether treatment is safe and suitable for you.

If treatment is appropriate, the clinician will discuss the available options with you so that you can jointly agree on the best course of action. Once agreed, the clinician will issue a prescription order.

Your clinician may also take the opportunity to offer general health advice, including guidance on healthy living or stopping smoking.

Please note: Medication is not guaranteed and is provided only at the discretion of the assessing clinician based on the NHS service specification.

You'll receive a notification summarising the outcome, including any referrals to your GP and advice given by the clinician. This is sent via in-app and push notifications. Go to Notifications on your account homepage to view it.

You may also receive a short survey about your experience. We encourage you to complete it, your feedback helps us improve the service for you and other patients.

If your clinician prescribes treatment during the consultation, follow these steps to complete your order:

• Go to your Cart. Use the account navigation to open your Cart

• Complete the NHS Exemption Declaration. A pop-up will appear for each NHS item in your Cart. Confirm whether you are exempt from paying the NHS prescription charge

• Select ‘Checkout’. Proceed from the Cart to the checkout process

• Choose your delivery address. Select or add the address where you would like your medication delivered

• Choose your delivery method. Select from the available delivery options

• Confirm your billing address. Review and confirm your billing details

• Review your order. Check the order summary to make sure everything is correct

• Submit payment. Complete payment on our secure banking page. NowPatient never handles your payment details, all payments are processed securely by our banking partner

• Order confirmed. You will see an order confirmation screen and be redirected to your account homepage

Add product to cart — Choose your product and start the booking process in a few simple steps.

Go to cart — Review items in your cart, adjust quantities and check available options.

Complete the NHS Exemption Declaration — Complete the NHS Exemption Declaration for each item in your cart.

Go to checkout, select delivery address — Enter or select your shipping address and add any additional delivery instructions.

Select delivery method — Choose your preferred delivery speed and see the estimated delivery dates.

Confirm billing address — Confirm or update your billing address for the payment.

Complete payment — Enter your payment details and review your order summary before confirming.

Order complete, return to the homepage — Your order is confirmed. We'll send you a separate email when your order is dispatched.

NowPatient's clinicians are board-certified pharmacists qualified to prescribe selected medications for six common conditions, as outlined by the NHS.

Every clinician is registered with the appropriate regulatory body, for example pharmacists are registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).

All clinicians undergo thorough background checks, including a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, and a comprehensive licence verification process.

When you book an appointment, you can view the clinician's full name, licence number and any specialist credentials.

The services our clinicians provide are strictly governed, risk-assessed and regularly reviewed in line with NHS guidelines. The service is delivered via remote video consultations (synchronous consultations) to help ensure clinical safety.

As an NHS patient, our clinicians can access your GP record, including medications, observations and investigations. This ensures they can assess you appropriately and provide safe, relevant advice.

The NHS New Medicine Service is classified as a Class I medical device under UK MDR 2002 regulations for its intended use. It also complies with NHS standards DTAC, DCB 0160 and DCB 0129.

Yes. NowPatient operates from a HIPAA, DTAC and Cyber Essentials Plus certified compliant platform. This ensures the highest levels of information security and allows us to safely handle Patient Health Information (PHI). Clinicians access our systems on a zero-trust basis, backed by single sign-on (SSO) technologies.

NowPatient’s pharmacists provide medication advice and counselling across all dispensing services. If you have any questions about medication prescribed through Pharmacy First, our pharmacists are available to help.

Areas served

We deliver to all postcodes in England. Some rural areas may experience slightly longer delivery times.

Packaging

All orders are shipped in discreet, unmarked packaging, suitable for delivery to your home, workplace, or a neighbour’s address. For temperature-sensitive items, we use cold chain-validated packaging to maintain product quality, safety, and efficacy. You will normally receive an estimated delivery window from the courier on the day of delivery.

First order restriction: For your protection, your first order can only be delivered to the address registered with NowPatient. Future orders can be delivered to any other address, such as your workplace.

Delivery options and timescales

We aim to dispatch all orders placed Monday to Friday before 3pm on the same day. Orders placed after 3pm or on weekends are dispatched the next working day. Deliveries are shipped by Royal Mail, which delivers Monday to Saturday.

Royal Mail Standard Tracked & Signed (NHS prescriptions): 2 to 3 day delivery (normally 48 hours).

Royal Mail Special Delivery: Next working day (guaranteed before 1pm).

Do you ship temperature-sensitive products?

Yes. We use a specialist courier service for all temperature-sensitive deliveries to ensure cold chain integrity is maintained at all times.

What to do if your order has not been delivered

You can check your tracking details in the ‘Notification Feed’ section of your dashboard at any time after dispatch. If your delivery has not arrived within 10 days of the dispatch notification, please contact us and we will do everything we can to resolve the issue.

NowPatient keeps you informed at every stage. You will receive status update notifications through email and in-app notifications.

NHS Pharmacy First is a free service that lets you get a remote video consultation and treatment for six common conditions without visiting your GP. It is available through NowPatient to NHS patients aged 18 and over in England.

The service covers six conditions: sinusitis, sore throats, infected insect bites, impetigo, shingles, and uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) in women. Each condition is subject to an eligibility screening before you can book a consultation.

Yes, the video consultation is completely free. If your clinician prescribes medication and you are not exempt from NHS prescription charges, you will pay a single NHS prescription charge. If you are exempt (for example, you are over 60 or on Income Support), there is no charge at all.

No. The service is commissioned by NHS England and is only available to patients registered with a GP in England. It is not available in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, or outside the UK.

You are eligible if you are aged 18 or over and registered with the NHS in England. You must also pass a condition-specific eligibility screening, which is carried out by an assessment tool before you can book your consultation.

If you do not qualify for the service, NowPatient will signpost you to the right NHS care provider or service so you can still get the help you need. You can also download a referral note, explaining why you failed the assessment.

No. NHS Pharmacy First through NowPatient currently covers only the six listed conditions. For other conditions, please contact your GP or visit an NHS walk-in centre.

Log in to your NowPatient account and go to the NHS Pharmacy First Service Card in the NHS Hub. Select your condition, complete the eligibility screening, and if you qualify, follow the prompts to choose your preferred date, time, and clinician.

Yes. During booking, you can browse available clinicians and filter by gender and spoken languages. You can view each clinician’s name, licence number, and credentials before making your choice.

After booking, you will see a ‘Pre-consultation Requirements’ section with tips on how to prepare. You will also be asked to provide your consultation address and emergency contact details. You can opt in to receive an SMS reminder 30 minutes before your appointment.

The clinician will ask you questions to assess your condition and explore treatment options. If treatment is appropriate, you and the clinician will agree on the best option together. Medication is not guaranteed — it is provided only at the clinician’s discretion.

With your consent, the clinician may inform your GP of the treatment prescribed. We recommend agreeing to this, as your GP is responsible for your overall care and should have a record of the consultation.

Yes. You will receive an in-app and push notification summarising the consultation outcome, including any referrals to your GP and advice given by the clinician. You can view this in the ‘Notifications’ section of your homepage.

If your clinician prescribes medication, you will be directed to your Cart to complete the checkout process. This includes confirming your NHS exemption status, choosing a delivery address and method, and submitting payment.

If you are not exempt from NHS prescription charges, you will pay a single prescription charge per item. If you are exempt, you will not be charged. You will be asked to confirm your exemption status during checkout.

You may be entitled to free NHS prescriptions from the NHS Pharmacy Service if you meet specific eligibility criteria. To claim exemption, the appropriate category must be selected on the prescription form and valid evidence may be required. The exemption categories are listed below:
​

• A: Aged 60 or over, or under 16 (unless date of birth is printed on the form)

• B: Aged 16, 17, or 18 and in full-time education

• D: Maternity exemption certificate

• E: Medical exemption certificate

• F: Prescription prepayment certificate

• W: HRT-only prescription prepayment certificate

• G: Ministry of Defence prescription exemption certificate

• L: HC2 (full help) certificate

• H: Receiving Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

• S: Receiving Pension Credit Guarantee Credit (including partners)

• U: Receiving Universal Credit and meeting eligibility criteria (Earnings ≤ £435, or ≤ £935 [if UC includes child element or limited capability for work)], in most recent assessment period)

You must only claim an exemption if they are entitled to it. Incorrect claims can result in penalty charges. Proof of eligibility should be provided if requested when collecting medication.

You may be entitled to certain medication items for free as listed below. Make sure you declare this when you checkout your prescription order.

• For Contraceptive Use

• For STI (Sexually Transmitted Infection) Treatment

• For latent or active Tuberculosis (TB) or to treat adverse effects of TB treatment
  ​

You can check your exemption status by clicking below
​

Yes. During the consultation, we will ask for your consent to provide the service. This allows us to communicate with your GP and share information with NHS England, NHS Improvement, and the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) when required.

Our clinicians are board-certified pharmacists registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). All clinicians undergo DBS background checks and a comprehensive licence verification process. The conditions and medications they can prescribe are strictly governed and reviewed in line with NHS guidelines.

Yes. The service is classified as a Class I medical device under UK MDR 2002 regulations. It complies with NHS standards DTAC, DCB 0160, and DCB 0129. Consultations are delivered via live video to ensure clinical safety and appropriate prescribing.

Yes. NowPatient operates from a HIPAA, DTAC, and Cyber Essentials Plus certified platform that ensures the highest levels of information security. Clinicians access systems on a zero-trust basis with single sign-on (SSO) technology.

Yes. As an NHS patient, our clinicians can access your GP record, including your medications, observations, and investigations. This helps them assess your condition safely and accurately.

We deliver to all postcodes in England. Some rural areas may experience slightly longer delivery times.

All orders are shipped in discreet, unmarked packaging. Temperature-sensitive medications are sent in cold chain-validated packaging to ensure product quality and safety.

We offer Royal Mail Standard Tracked & Signed (2–3 days) and Royal Mail Special Delivery (next working day, guaranteed before 1pm). Orders placed before 3pm Monday–Friday are dispatched the same day.

Your first order must be delivered to the address registered with NowPatient. After that, you can choose any delivery address, including your workplace.

Check the tracking details in the ‘Notification Feed’ section of your dashboard. If your delivery has not arrived within 10 days of the dispatch notification, contact us and we will work to resolve the issue.

NowPatient sends status updates by email and in-app notifications at every stage of your order, from placement through to delivery.

Yes. NowPatient’s pharmacists provide medication advice and counselling across all dispensing services. If you have questions about your prescribed medication, our pharmacy team is available to help.

You may receive a short survey about your experience. We encourage you to complete it, as your feedback helps us improve the service. It is especially helpful if you highlight areas for improvement.